Tag Archives: children

Hello people of the internet!!! On today’s ‘Monday Memos we’re going to talk about one of the best parts of fall… Halloween movies. Technically we could watch these movies at any point of the year, but there’s just something about fall that makes these movies even better. Now even though there are always new movies that come out during this time of the year, I thought that it would be fun to make a list of 5 Halloween movies that we already know are awesome (and honestly fall would feel empty without). I will say that there won’t be any “horror” or “scary” movies on here because I want to keep the list very family friendly, so you can feel comfortable watching any of these movies with your entire family. So now let’s get to the list! Ready? Ok, let’s go!!!

5) Pooh’s Huffalump Halloween Movie:

We’re kicking things off with this movie because honestly who doesn’t love Winnie the Pooh. This is a really cute movie that’s story and characters will entertain kids, and give older audiences a kick of nostalgia. The plot has a little suspense but at its’ core is a really sweet story of friendship, and is definitely another classic story in this beloved franchise.

4) Halloweentown:

Now this is a true Disney Channel classic! Every Disney Channel fan knows that once October hits, we’ll get to see all 4 Halloweentown movies. I put the 1st one on this list because this is the story that started it all for this franchise. What I love most about this first film is that we are introduced to amazing characters, a really interesting story, but also get a dose of reality because of the characters relationships with each other. I also love that each film switches up the plot and characters, but we still see a lot of the familiar faces that we’ve grown to love.

3) Casper:

This is a great movie to watch during October, because it’s funny, the cast does a great job of bring these characters to life, and it will keep you entertained and engaged from beginning to end. this is definitely a film you’ll want to see again and again, and even though the movie originally came out in 1995 (wow!), it still holds up really well today. On a side note, the music in this movie is AMAZING, especially that ending song sung by Little Richard (just check out the video below)!

1)E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial:

Of course a Halloween list wouldn’t be complete without ET. This is an iconic film that has an amazing cast that bring these awesome characters to life, a great story, cool music, and is a movie that we’ve all seen but will continue to watch again and again. I had a really had time deciding whether this or the next movie that we’re going to talk about should be #1 so that’s why I’ve left it to you to decide. Let me know on the comments below which film you think should be #1. You can also check out one of the most iconic scenes from the movie below, which happens on…Halloween!

1) It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown:

I honestly had a REALLY hard time choosing between It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown & E.T, because they’re both amazing films, and iconic in their own way. So like I said above, I’ll leave it up to y’all to decide which one is your favorite. This is another AMAZING film that has unforgettable characters, and a story that we continue to fall more in love with every year. With the newest Peanuts movie hitting theaters this year (personally I’m so excited to see it), we continue to see that the Peanuts characters never get old, which is why this movie has a very special place in film history.

All credit goes to YouTube, rick6348, lyonslibrary.org, lincolncountylibraries.com, Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween Movie, Halloweentown, Casper, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, Elliot M. Bour, Saul Andrew Blinkoff, John A. Smith, Evan Spiliotopoulos, Bria Hohifeld, Mark Witters, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Paul Bernbaum, Jon Cooksey, Ali Matheson, Duwayne Dunham, Ron Mitchell, Brian Pogue, Disney Channel, Brad Silberling, Colin Wilson, Sherri Stoner, Deanna Oliver, Seymour Reit, Joe Oriolo, Amblin Entertainment, The Harvey Entertainment Company, DreamWorks Animation, Universal Pictures, Comcast Corporation, Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Melissa Mathison, Universal Pictures, Charles M. Schultz, Bill Melendez, Lee Mendelson, CBS, all of the businesses, companies, people, stores, and any other original owners involved and/or mentioned in any of these videos, any and all companies, individuals, and/or businesses that should receive credit for anything mentioned in this blog post, and all original owners. I do not own anything in this blog. If any people, corporations, businesses, companies, etc, were not previously given credit for their work, they are given credit now and their previous absence was unintentional. All opinions expressed in this blog are my own. I wrote this blog for entertainment purposes and no copyright infringement is intended.

Hello people of the internet!!! On today’s ‘Monday Memos’ we are going to discuss something that the whole internet was obsessed with this pat week. If you have an iPhone then you’re probably VERY familiar with the GPS function ‘Siri’. unless you have an iPhone and/or experience with Siri, then you may not realize that Siri is one very sassy GPS system. She’s been known to make jokes at the expense of her owner, and because of this, we have gotten some VERY funny clips for YouTube over the years. So please read on to find out what Siri did this past week that kept the internet buzzing.

It all started last Tuesday (June 30th), when Breaking Bad actor Aaron Paul tweeted that we should all ask SIri what zero divided by zero is (if you haven’t done this then go ahead and try…it’s ok I’ll wait…ok let’s move on!). Of course we all tried this, and here is what Siri said: “Imagine that you have zero cookies and you split them evenly among zero friends. How many cookies does each person get? See? It doesn’t make sense. And Cookie Monster is sad that there are no cookies, and you are sad that you have no friends.” So there you have it, be careful what you ask Siri because she is NOT afraid to completely destroy your self esteem. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, Cookie Monster has tweeted his resonse:

Well said Cookie Monster…well said! Make sure y’all check out a video of Siri’s answer to the zero question below:

All credit goes to YouTube, Siri, iPhone, Cookie Monster, Sesame Street, zap2it.com, Joan Caze Cooney, Lloyd Morrisett, Samuel Gibbon, Jon Stone, Reeves Teletape Studios, Unitel Video Inc., Astoria Studios, Children’s Television Workshop, Seasame Workshop, NET, PBS, Breaking Bad, Aaron Paul, Vince Gilligan, Mark Johnson, Michelle MacLaren, Stewart A Lyons, Sam Catlin, John Shiban, Peter Gould, George Mastras, Thomas Schnauz, Bryan Cranston, Moira Walley-Beckett, Karen Moore, Patty Lin, High Bridge Entertainment, ran Via Productions, Sony Pictures Television, AMC, Jim Henson, Frank Oz, David Rudman, all of the businesses, companies, people, stores, and any other original owners involved and/or mentioned in any of these videos, any and all companies, individuals, and/or businesses that should receive credit for anything mentioned in this blog post, and all original owners. I do not own anything in this blog. If any people, corporations, businesses, companies, etc, were not previously given credit for their work, they are given credit now and their previous absence was unintentional. All opinions expressed in this blog are my own. I wrote this blog for entertainment purposes and no copyright infringement is intended.

Hello people of the internet!!! On today’s ‘Monday Memos’ we are going to talk about something that I think we can all relate to. Now I know that you all remember getting up early on Saturday mornings and watching your favorite cartoons (this was probably the only time any of us ever voluntary woke up early). So with the recent trend of popular shows receiving spin-offs/continuations (such as ‘Digimon’, ‘Boy Meets World’, and ‘Full House’), I thought that this would be a good time to talk about a few cartoons that also deserve a spin-off/continuation. For the sake of time, I only chose 5 shows for this list (even though there are SOOO many more), so if y’all have any suggestions please comment below. Ok, are you ready? Let’s go!

5) DuckTales:

Ok honestly how could you not like this show? I mean it’s about the awesome adventures that Scrooge McDuck and his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie (haha those names always crack me up) go on. This show is based off of the ‘Uncle Scrooge’ comics, and featured really awesome villains and additional characters such as Donald Duck. Now technically ‘DuckTails’ has already gotten two spin-offs (‘Darkwing Duck’ and ‘Quack Pack’), but these spin-offs featured some of the characters from ‘DuckTails’, not all of the characters. It’s also been 19 years since ‘Quack Pack’ (the last spin-off) aired, so I think it’s time for the ducks to return. I mean the ‘DuckTails’ theme song along should be enough proof of this show’s awesomeness.

4) Rocket Power

Ok now this is a show that I’m surprised hasn’t already gotten a spin-off. This show had an awesome mix of fun, life lessons, and kids doing awesome extreme sports. Anybody who watched ‘Rocket Power’ definitely wanted to be just like Otto and his friends (the characters on the show just in case you didn’t know). Another thing that really made this show awesome was the fact that we finally got a really cool female character in Reggie (Otto’s sister). Of course she dealt with boy/friend problems just like any girl, but she could also beat a lot of the guy characters on the show, and proved that being a tomboy can be very cool. Exciting adventures, cool characters, and awesome extreme sports, remind me again why this show hasn’t gotten a spin-off?

3) Hey Arnold!

Ok now you gotta love ‘Hey Arnold!’. What I liked best about this show is that the characters were super relatable, and seemed like real kids so the plot lines of the show were believable. Whether you were cool like Gerald, slightly crazy but actually misunderstood like Helga, or completely average like Arnold, you found a character that could represent you on the show. Even though we love shows that have cool, crazy characters, in awesome situations, it definitely shows talent and courage for a network to make a show that’s just about regular kids dealing with regular life stuff. With not a lot of cartoons like this currently on air, it seems like the perfect time to shout out ‘Hey Arnold!’.

2) Animaniacs

Now this was a show that was wacky, fun, and a little weird at times, but honestly we loved every minute of it! This show was about three siblings named Yakko, Wakko, and Dot who were fictional 1930s cartoon stars, who were locked away in the Warner Bros. water tower until they escaped in the 1990s. Once the three escape they wreck havoc on the Warner Bros. lot. Yakko, Wakko, and Dot got into really hilarious situations by interacting with “studio employees” and other cartoon characters on the lot. What I liked most about this show is it had a cool mix of wacky humor, pop culture references, and more mature jokes that we probably didn’t get as kids. This show has had spin-offs but it was so unique that I think it deserves to entertain us again.

1) Recess

Lastly, but definitely not least, we have ‘Recess’ (aka the show about the BFFs you wished you had). This show was about a group of 6 fourth graders, who had adventures and dealt with life problems during everyone’s favorite time of the day…recess! The characters playground is a mini-world environment that has the stereotypical cliques, and a “government” complete with unwritten laws, and even a king. This was another show that had a wide range of characters that just about everyone could relate to. Whether you fit in more with T.J. the class clown, Spinelli the tomboy, Gretchen the nerd, or even Randall the snitch, you’ll definitely see yourself within this series. Even though ‘Recess’ had a few movies after the show ended, we only got to see the characters make it to the 5th grade. I say we need at least 1 more season so they can go to 6th grade, and then move on to middle school.

Hello people of the internet!!! On today’s ‘Monday Memos’ I have an awesome new interview with actor Ben Diskin for y’all to check out. If you’re a fan of shows such as: Naruto, Bleach, Codename: Kids Next Door, Hey Arnold, Zoey 101, and Digimon Fusion then you probably already know who Ben is (he’s done A LOT of other films/anime/other projects., it just would take too long to list them all). I had the amazing opportunity to ask Ben a few questions about his background, the acting industry, and his roles as Shoutmon and Cutemon on Digimon Fusion. So if y’all are ready, let’s jump into the interview!

Celinda: Hi Ben! So first of all, how did you first get into the entertainment industry? Ben: I got into the entertainment industry while I was still a fetus. People think I’m joking when I say that, but it’s honestly true. Both of my parents are actors and while I was developing in my Mom’s womb, their agent told them he’d like to represent me when I was born. They signed the paperwork and I had representation before I’d taken my first breath.Celinda: Wow that is such a cool story. So what do you wish you would have known about being an actor before getting into the business? Ben: I really wish I’d known to keep my mouth shut. When you’re a kid and you don’t know any better, you want to tell all your friends about jobs you’re working on because you’re so excited about what you’ve just done. The trouble with that is it makes you look like a braggart and people make some pretty unfair judgements about your personality. As a kid, I told anyone who’d listen that I was in Kindergarten Cop with Arnold Schwarzenegger. This got out to the whole school and suddenly I’d made a bunch of new “friends.” These kids thought I was a movie star, rich, and really cool. Once it dawned on them that I was none of those things, they called me a liar, a brat, and a fake. I went from being popular to being teased mercilessly and it made me want to quit acting. To this day, I tend to keep my mouth shut about projects I’m working on because a part of me fears the same thing will happen. Celinda: So how did you transition into voice acting? Ben: I was with the CED (now CESD) Talent Agency since I was a baby and they’ve been one of the top dogs for VO work for several decades. One day I was approached by one of the voice over agents to do a radio spot audition. I didn’t know how to read very well at the time, so he had to dictate my dialogue to me and have me repeat it. My first major moment in voice over was doing an animated series called Problem Child (based on the movies with John Ritter.) When I realized that no one, not even my closest friends, recognized my voice coming from the cartoon character, I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Being able to act without dealing with any of the “fame” was exactly what I was looking for.

Celinda: Very cool. So in your opinion, what’s the biggest difference between on-camera acting & voice acting? Ben: Focus. When you’re acting on camera, there are several tools at your disposal. You have your expressions, your gestures, your body language, your blocking, and your voice to properly convey the emotions of your character. In voice over, you’re forced to focus on just one aspect of acting: the voice. With an on-camera character, I can subtly raise an eyebrow to convey suspicion. In voice over, you have to vocally convey that same subtle eyebrow raise. When everything is filtered through the voice, it can be like a blind man trying to understand the world using only touch and smell.

Celinda: So moving on to Digimon (which is currently airing its’ second season on Nicktoons), were you a fan before working on the franchise? Ben: I was ABSOLUTELY a big fan of Digimon! I loved those shows!

Celinda: Since you were already a fan of Digimon, what was it like to work on a show that you had previously enjoyed as a viewer? Ben: It was a major honor to get to work on this show. I’d been hoping Xros Wars would get a dub ever since it came out in Japan, but after a couple of years went by, I’d lost hope of that ever happening. When I got the audition, I freaked out. XD The show is a lot of fun to work on for me, since my major anime influence is Dragonball Z. I play a character who yells like crazy and it reminds me of why I wanted to do this in the first place.

Celinda: I just want to say that you do a terrific job voicing Shoutmon & Cutemon. Do you record their scenes in different sessions? (y’all can check out a clip of Shoutmon & Cutemon in Digimon Fusion below)

Ben: Thank you! We typically record all of one character’s lines and then go back to the beginning of the episode for a second pass to record the other.

Celinda: So Shoutmon & Cutemon’s voices sound so distinct, what process do you go through to prepare your voice so you can give each character a unique personality? Ben: It depends on when we record the episode. The Cutemon voice is extremely finicky. I can’t do it too early in the morning or too late in the day. If it’s an early morning session, Shoutmon has to go first. Because he’s such a loud, scratchy-voiced character, his voice warms up my vocal cords so I can do Cutemon. If the session is in the afternoon, my voice is already warmed up from being awake all day and I’ll have to do Cutemon first before it gets too late. Doing Shoutmon at this point will actually stress my vocal cords too much and Cutemon will sound really scratchy and weird. As for giving them unique personalities, I feel like they’re written differently enough that it comes out naturally.

Celinda: Wow, that’s so interesting! So I know that you’ve voiced a lot of great characters throughout your career, is there a specific character that you haven’t already voiced that you would like to someday? Ben: Ummm….……. You know, I never know how to answer this question. I look at each role I get as a small victory in and of itself. I don’t really lust after particular roles; I just see what life brings my way.

Celinda: Ok, so what advice do you have for anyone who wants to get into voice acting? Ben: The voice acting industry is full of opportunities but it’s also very tricky to get started in. My best advice would be to make sure you understand what you’re getting involved in. If you want this to be your career, you’ll have to move to where the work is, take lessons, make connections, and struggle for years to get people to give you a chance even if you’re already very good. Making a career out of voice acting alone isn’t very common, so make sure you don’t overestimate your abilities. Just because your friends or family tell you you’re good at doing cartoon voices isn’t an indication that this is your future. Remember, if you’re going to be a voice actor, you have to be an actor. This isn’t “doing voices” or “doing impressions;” it’s acting. Can’t act? Don’t waste your time. It’s as simple as that.

Celinda: Lastly, is there anything you would like to tell your fans who are reading this interview? Ben: Thanks a lot for watching Digimon Fusion!! Season 2 is airing right now on NickToons; go watch it!!!

All credit goes to Ben Diskin, CESD talent agency, Nicktoons, Digimon, Digimon Xros Wars, Digimon Fusion, Twitter, Facebook, Tomoharu Matsuhisa, Hiroyuki Sakurada, TV Asahi, Toei Animation, Yuki Nakashima, Tetsuya Endo, Riku Sanjo, Kousuke Yamashita, Noam Kaniel, Saban Brands, ABC, NBN, QAB, Kidz TV, GO!, YTV, Disney XD, Kix, CITV, Nickelodeon, The CW (Vortexx), Namco Bandai, Colleen O’Shaughnessy, all companies, individuals, corporations, and/or businesses that should recieve credit for anything mentioned in this blog post, and all original owners. I do not own anything in this blog. If any people, corporations, businesses, companies, etc, were not previously given credit for their work, they are given credit now and their previous absence was unintentional. All opinions expressed in this blog are my own. I wrote this blog for entertainment purposes and no copyright infringement is intended.

Hello people of the internet!!! In Today’s ‘YouTube Wednesday’, I will introduce you to an extremely talented young performer who is not only an amazing singer/songwriter, actress, but is also passionate philanthropist. I’ve been listening to her various YouTube covers and original songs for some time now, and I have to say that I am constantly impressed by her vocal skills and growth as an artist. Although she already has performance experience that numerous artists would aspire for (and she’s only 16 years old), I believe that she will continue to succeed and will soon be a HUGE star. Please allow me to introduce you to (start the drumroll….) Lexxi Saal.

Lexxi Saal is a singer/songwriter from New York City. At the tender age of 6, Lexxi began acting, and thus ignited her love of entertaining others. She has since performed in numerous plays with the organization ‘Way Off Broadway’. At age 11 Lexxi began singing and discovered a true passion for music. Lexxi’s talent and determination has allowed her to perform on numerous iconic stages, such as: ‘The Apollo Theater’ (which has been the starting place for numerous music legends),’The Cutting Room’, and ‘The Bitter End’. At age 12, Lexxi wrote a song entitled ‘Thank You’, as a tribute for those who have, and continue to serve in the military. The song not only showcases Lexxi’s AMAZING vocals, but also contains inspiring, emotionally conviction, that charged lyrics, that will cause anyone listening to it, to reflect on how much those in the military sacrifice for us. The song is sung A cappella, and is delivered with such conviction and sincerity, that it seems impossible that it was written by a 12 year old girl. I believe that this song is truly a testament to Lexxi’s musicianship and artistry. I would HIGHLY suggest that you check out the video for the song here Tribute to our Troops “Thank You” Lexxi Saal however I will say, when listening to this song you better have your tissues ready. Lexxi has received numerous awards from the military because of this song, and she continues to perform it at military benefits and events.

Lexxi has also opened for numerous artists, and has toured extensively. Some popular artists that Lexxi has opened for include: teen pop star Cody Simpson (who Lexxi opened for on November 19th, 2011 and again on November 10th, 2012, in her home state of New York), later in November of 2012, she opened for teen pop/YouTube star Austin Mahone, as in New York. Lexxi performed extensively in 2013, appearing as a part of the Pop Explosion Tour, OMG Music Fest, Digifest, VidCon, Teen Hoot show, and Fall Jam shows. Lexxi also opened for numerous phenomenal artists in 2013 such as: Connor Maynard (YouTube star/Parlophone Records (a subdivision of Warner Music Group) recording artist , Jillian Jenson ( The X Factor USA season 2 contestant), and Aaron Carter (yeah, I don’t think I need to explain who he is), and numerous other acts. Lexxi was also a featured performer at Sam Pottorff’s (1 of the 6 members of the EXTREMLY popular ‘our2ndlife’ channel on YouTube) 18th Birthday Party Concert. As you can see, 2013 was certainly a HUGE year for Lexxi, and I see 2014 as an even bigger year for the star.

Starting in 2011, Lexxi began posting numerous cover videos of popular songs from artists such as Adele, Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Lorde, and numerous others. Lexxi has proven through these videos that she has the vocal control, soulfulness, and emotional range of numerous well established artists. She has also demonstrated that she has grown immensely as an artist over the years, by perfecting her crafting, and developing her own, unique sound. I have also noticed that Lexxi’s wide range of artists that she chooses to cover, speaks volumes about her various musical influences. It is essential for an artist to be influences by various artists, because it allows them to be well versed in numerous styles of music, thus aiding them in creating a fuller, more diverse sound. Lexxi also proves through her cover videos that she is fully capable of captivating a crowd, simply by using her voice. I definitely suggest that you check out her covers, you will not regret it!

Lexxi has also released numerous original song, which include ‘Just Breath’ ( Lexxi Saal Original “Just Breathe” written by Lexxi Saal, an beautifully written song about longing for another person), ‘Gossip Girl’, ‘Winner’, ‘Soft Ribbon’, Hold on Pain Ends( Lexxi Saal Hold On Pain Ends (H.O.P.E) Lyric Video – YouTube an inspirational, moving song about finding hope in the aftermath of bullying and trauma), ‘Regret’ (a high tempo EDM inspired track that’s a very unexpected yet cool direction for her), and lastly her VERY popular 2012 track ‘Thank You JB’ ( an ode to the obstacles pop star Justin Bieber encountered on his rise to fame, and the way his story has inspired her and other fans. This song can be found on ITunes). Lexxi’s website states that she is preparing to release an EP of original music (judging from the music she has already released, I will definitely purchase her EP…I suggest you do too!!!).

If you thought that Lexxi was just a phenomenal actress, singer/songwriter, then you were wrong! Although Lexxi is extremely busy with her blossoming career, she is also very dedicated to her organization ‘LexxiLoves’. Lexxi founded this organization when she was 8 years old (doesn’t she make you feel like a slacker!?!), the organization’s mission is to donate gifts, raise awareness, and encourage others to aid in supporting and fundraising for children in foster care, and as Lexxi state on the LexxiCare’s website, “Make a Child Smile”. Lexxi has numerous projects that her organization participates in, such as their ‘Sweet Dreams Pillow Project’, which is a program that provides numerous foster children with a pillow case with an inspiration message on it. The ‘Sweet Dreams Pillow Project’ pillowcases are also available for purchase, and all purchases count as donations to LexxiLoves. The organization is also partnered with 1-800 Flower.com, which provide a bouquet of followers to a child in foster care every month. Personally I think that it is so amazing that this young, talented girl is so passionate about helping and inspiring others, so I definitely suggest that you check out and share the link to the Lexxi Loves website lexxiloves : About Lexxi Loves.

As you can see, Lexxi Saal is a phenomenal actress, vocalist, songwriter, who certainly has a long future ahead of her as an entertainer. She has also been gifted with a large heart, and the determination and passion to see her vision through. I can certainly see Lexxi quickly becoming a household name, as well as a constant radio presence. Due to the fact that her vocal abilities exceed traditional genre limitations, and her songwriting skills are very advanced for her age, I can see Lexxi obtaining and maintaining a very diverse fanbase. I also believe that due to Lexxi’s hardworking and meticulous nature, that LexxiLoves will continue to gain ground, and soon have the ability and support to give hope to numerous children in the foster care system. I HIGHLY suggest that you become familiar with Lexxi Saal, because this is a name that you will hear extensively for years to come.

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